Friedensverhandlungen in Brest-Litowsk

This short documentary focuses on the 1917 peace negotiations between Germany and the Soviets in Brest-Litovsk, now Brest, in Belarus. In 1917 and 1918, peace talks took place between Russia – where the Soviets had just risen to power – and the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. The film starts with the delegates' arrival in the city, with Trotsky among them. We then witness their arrival at the casino where negotiations are to be held, and some of them pose in front of the camera. Russia was in bad shape at the time, partly because hundreds of thousands of soldiers had deserted the army. The peace agreement would work out poorly for the Soviets, but they were hoping for a communist revolution in Germany. Germany was now able to put all its troops into action on the front. The film ends with shots of German and Russian soldiers fraternizing at the snow-bedecked front, where they are shown exchanging items with one another.